Australia-listed Silver Heritage Group has received a “conditional, binding offer” of US$33.9 million to sell its Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa in Nepal. The buyer was identified last week by GGRAsia as Indra Bahadur Thapa. He reportedly has offered $20 million in upfront cash to close the deal; Thapa would also take on a US$13.9 million lending facility with a consortium of Nepalese banks.
In a July 31 announcement, Silver Heritage said Thapa must deposit US$3 million into an escrow account by August 15, after which he will have 30 days to conduct due diligence.
“After careful analysis, in which the board of the company considered the terms of the offer, including the absence of a superior offer, and in conjunction with the material uncertainty related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern as disclosed by the company, the Board has therefore decided to grant the buyer the right to conduct due diligence and exclusivity … to facilitate definitive transaction documentation,” Silver Heritage stated.
The company said the sale is not a done deal and noted that it will continue to consider other funding options in the meantime.
Tiger Palace, near the country’s border with the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, opened in late December 2017. In May, Silver Heritage disclosed that it decided to sell off its Nepal operations following the sudden termination of a long-standing agreement to provide gaming management services at Phoenix International Club in Vietnam, which contributed around 45 percent of its revenue in 2018. In March, that venue’s general manager said the local authorities no longer permit table games there. Later that month, Silver Heritage announced it would get US$5.25 million in compensation from its former partner in that Vietnam business.
On May 31 the firm had said in a filing that there was “material uncertainty” that might “cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
In a separate filing on July 31, Silver Heritage said it had negative cash flow from operations for the first half to June 30, amounting to just over US$3.86 million, but it also held cash and cash equivalents for the first half amounting to nearly US$4.26 million.
The suitor for the Nepal business is being represented by Hotel Investment Partners Ltd. The approach followed Silver Heritage engaging Union Gaming Group as its exclusive advisor on a potential sale of the Nepal business, GGRAsia reported.
